


The Keeper of the Blade

by Cactaceae28



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018), Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Conversations, Crack Crossover, Episode: s01e09 Excalibur, Gen, Merlin wishes every crisis was this easy to solve, Post-canon Hades, Sentient Excalibur, The Stygian Blade is Excalibur, Welding canons together, Zagreus is part of the Pantheon, compromises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29807484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cactaceae28/pseuds/Cactaceae28
Summary: Merlin needs a weapon that can slay the Dead. He takes a sword to be reforged by the Great Dragon's fire. The result is Excalibur, Arthur's fabled sword. That should have solved the problem.Except that nothing in his life can ever be that straightforward, so he has to contend with a random agent of the Old Religion suddenly appearing to talk about ownership and destiny. Still, he will find that he can't argue with the results.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	The Keeper of the Blade

“You must do more than understand. You must promise.”

“I promise.”

The Great Dragon breathed upon Gwen’s sword and as Merlin had imagined it didn’t melt or singe in any way. The warlock looked away when the fire grew in intensity, at first focusing on his hastily thrown shield, but there was so much magic in the air that it took almost no effort at all to maintain it. His blood sung with the enchantment happening in front of him.

When it was over Merlin observed the reforged sword with wordless awe, rooted in place. As the black spots caused by Kilgharrah’s fire vanished he could see that the sword gleamed with a bluish, impossibly gentle glow. It was not hard to imagine that it was something otherworldly, something magical. Nonetheless, it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen; it was almost hard to imagine it used for violence, yet he could see its edge was sharp and its balance was true.

Merlin took a hesitant step forward, but stopped respectfully when he saw the Great Dragon was about to speak, aware of the solemnity of the moment.

That was when they both heard the faint sound of bells tolling in the distance, and the noise impossibly grew louder and louder until Merlin had to clasp his hands against his ears. Through half-closed eyes he detected some new figure moving between them, but before he could act, without warning his throat closed. Suddenly he had no thoughts to spare, struggling to draw a breath like those awful moments during Bayard’s visit. He could almost feel the weight of the poisoned chalice in his hand as he collapsed; but then, thankfully, someone in red was lifting him up, just as before.

“Arthur…”

“Sorry you got caught up in all that, young warlock. I didn’t expect to cut it so close.”

The pressure vanished, his mind cleared, and Merlin was able to draw a full breath again. After a moment he looked up, still with his heart beating too fast, and then he registered the pitch black hair and mismatched eyes. He jerked away, flustered and the stranger easily let him go, lifting both arms in a gesture of peace.

“Lord Zagreus,” Kilgharrah exclaimed. There was an odd note of reverence in his voice.

The man looked up unflinchingly, with the hints of a smirk in his lips.

“Long time no see, Kilgharrah. Though I can’t say I’m sorry about _that_.”

Merlin blinked in confusion. There was something odd about the man's voice, almost as if it came from somewhere far away, yet he had no trouble understanding the words. While he tried to puzzle out his nature (now that the shock had faded, something at the core of his being was shouting loudly that this was no mere human, magic or otherwise), Zagreus lifted a hand and the sword fairly leapt into it, chiming like it was greeting an old friend.

“This was, without a doubt, the most convoluted way to start existing up on this plane. The others are going to be jealous.”

The sword glittered a bit harder. Impossibly, Merlin got the feeling that it was pleased with itself.

“Why have you come, Lord Prince?”

The man tore his gaze away from the sword, and tilted his head.

“Yes, about that… you two jumped the rail tonight. It isn’t quite time for Excalibur’s debut yet, so I got sent to fix that.”

“What?” Merlin said, though his voice cracked with indignation. After everything that had happened, the poor knights who had already paid the price to give Arthur time, he couldn’t fail here. “No, no, I need that.”

The Great Dragon, to his surprise, came to his defense, fixing one of his eyes on the being. “But surely Destiny must have declared it was time, since it is here—”

"No."

"Lord Prince…" The dragon said, using the tone of voice that always made Merlin feel two inches high. Amazingly, it only seemed to irritate the being, who let out a derisive scoff. As if to further confirm his supernatural status, his red eye glowed eerily as he fixed it on the dragon. 

"No, Kilgharrah, no. Not only no, but _hell_ no."

Merlin watched, wide-eyed, as Zagreus folded his arms, unimpressed and unmovable. For a moment it seemed hopeless to oppose someone of so much power; but that had never stopped Merlin before. He gathered his courage, remembering who he was doing this for, and pressed onwards as always.

“You don’t understand, we need that sword, I need that sword. It is the only thing that can save my— my friend. He has to face a wraith tomorrow, and I can’t let him die. He is a good man and he will be a great king, and he doesn’t deserve to die because he’s been caught in someone else’s revenge. Please.”

For the first time the being’s countenance softened. His shoulders dropped a fraction and when he looked back at Merlin, his eyes almost looked human; but there still was a frown on his face. 

"Look, you seem like a loyal friend. I can respect that, but there are rules to follow here. Stygius —Excalibur— is to be wielded by either my uncle, me or Arthur, Once-and-Future King. Master Chaos in a pinch, I guess, though I can't see why they'd want to.”

“It’s for him, it’s for Arthur that I’m asking,” Merlin interrupted, forcefully ignoring his many questions if it meant he wouldn’t leave empty handed. 

“I imagined,” Zagreus said with a wry twist on his lips. “You two wouldn’t have gotten her to come up here if Arthur wasn’t involved in some way. But it’s too soon. Emrys, listen to me: it isn’t time yet. The Fa— the Triple Goddess can’t be circumvented that easily, and this is a prophecy they have held onto for a long, _long_ time. The only one who may wield Excalibur in the mortal plane is Arthur. Not you, not a winged lizard, not anyone else.”

Kilgharrah remained uncharacteristically quiet. The sword seemed to shudder, like it too was feeling chastised. Zagreus continued, sounding apologetic.

“If I let this happen now, something will go wrong and if anyone else so much as lays a finger on her, the Triple Goddess will have our livers for breakfast. I've just gotten back on their good graces. I’m sorry, but the answer’s still no."

Merlin breathed deeply at that onslaught of information, forcing himself to remain calm. Finally he felt he had enough control to continue without considering just who he must be talking to.

“Then… how am I supposed to help Arthur? If he dies tomorrow, he won’t ever wield Excalibur, isn’t that something you want to avoid too? Wouldn’t that anger them as well?” 

Zagreus looked at him perplexedly. After a moment he threw his head back, groaning loudly. "Oh, blood and darkness. Fine. I guess you are right. Hades spare me from meddlesome mortals."

He rolled his shoulders and rested the sword against his back, then coughed sharply. Merlin jumped, suddenly realizing that the man was bleeding profusely, though he could see no injuries of any kind. Bizarrely, his voice was still strong in spite of the gruesome display. In the background, the bells started tolling anew.

"Look, I have to go, but I'll get Than to take care of your wretched— I mean your wraith before the battle tomorrow. When it's _actually_ time for Arthur to _actually_ wield the extremely pointy titan-slaying super-weapon, I'll… get it to him. Somehow. I promise."

“But…”

“I give you my word, Emrys.”

With that solemn vow still ringing in the air the lights dimmed, there was a squelching sound and before Merlin could react the stranger was gone. Even the puddle of blood left in his wake was rapidly receding, seeping into the ground and after a couple of heartbeats was gone as if it never had been there in the first place.

The sword was gone as well.

"... Kilgharrah?"

“I must apologize, young warlock. It seems I misjudged the situation.”

“But… he… and Arthur…”

“You don’t need to fear. Unlike many of his siblings, the Lord of Life and Blood can always be trusted to keep his word. The wraith will be vanquished before tomorrow.”

“So he was part of the Old Religion? Truly?”

“In a way, perhaps. I‘m afraid I cannot divine the ways of the gods.”

Merlin gaped, unable to help himself. Magic and dragons, that was one thing, but real, tangible gods?

“What?”

“In any case, young warlock, I feel that a great mistake was avoided here today. Perhaps we ought to be grateful to Lord Zagreus. Though his manners may not be as great as his power, he clearly possesses _some_ wisdom.”

Personally, Merlin found it just a bit hypocritical of the dragon to call literally anyone else out on his manners, what with his tendency to disappear in the middle of conversations and insult him and everybody else in Camelot every other word, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. Certainly Kilgharrah had had reason to become as jaded as he was, after the decades trapped in the dungeon.

Merlin fidgeted. Silence descended heavily between the pair. After a long, uncomfortable moment he took a couple of steps towards the door.

“So I’ll just… go?”

The dragon seemed as much at a loss as he was, at least. He inclined his head, for once having been robbed of having the last word. Merlin balanced on his feet, resisted the urge to fuss with his neckerchief and took another step back, reaching the threshold.

“Um, so, yes. Good night, Kilgharrah.”

Just as he turned towards the stairs he heard the rustle of wings and an almost inaudible “good night” that brought a smile to his face. He felt that at the very least, he and Kilgharrah had made some progress today.

A few hours later and many paces away, just as the dawn was breaking, an undead soldier became animated again. Before it could continue with his assigned goal however, something whistled through the clear air and for a moment a scythe could have been seen wielded by a dark figure, taking what remained of the Queen’s brother back to his assigned place in the partially restored plains of Asphodel.

(And one day, in Arthur’s greatest hour of need, the sword will appear again. In a land of myth, the Once and Future King will wield Excalibur side by side with Emrys and the Knights of the Round Table, forging a legend on par with the tales of old. But not just yet)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> This is a pretty silly concept, but I couldn't _not_ take the opportunity presented by Hades' game mechanics since Arthur is mentioned in the video game -for the record I imagine Excalibur looking like a blend between both game and series, more slender than the two-handed sword of Hades but still bigger and brighter than the sword in the TV series. The rest... I don't even know, to be honest :)


End file.
